Very often there is a need to position a medical device, be it a diagnostic device, therapeutic device, or a positioning device to name a few, within the body of a patient as part of performing a medical procedure. Due to the nature of the living body which moves with respiration and other bodily functions, such positioning can be daunting, especially where the medical device must be positioned within a confined space.
One example where such a need exists is in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, and more specifically atrial fibrillation (AF). AF is a disorder found in more than 2 million Americans. A heart in normal sinus rhythm receives an electrical signal from which it develops the well coordinated heart beat. AF occurs when something imparts a change to the received electrical signal resulting in uncontrolled and uncoordinated beating of the atria, the atria receiving multiple signals which command the atrial chambers to beat in an uncoordinated manner.
While typically not fatal, the uncoordinated heart beat associated with AF results in blood pooling and clotting which, in turn, can lead to stroke. Approximately 15 percent of strokes occur in people with AF.
Ablation catheter systems are commonly used in the left atrium to treat atrial fibrillation. The ablation catheter systems may incorporate an ablating portion which is strategically placed upon the soil tissue of the left atrium. One or more lesions are then created as part of a desired lesion set or pattern in order to treat AF.
Catheter ablation of the left atrial tissue to create a desired lesion set can be problematic due to positioning constraints put on the user, primarily an electrophysiologist. The user must remotely and percutaneously manipulate the ablating device to a desired point within the left atrium from which the ablating element can be energized creating a lesion, as part of a desired lesion set. Typically, catheter systems having distal end electrodes are guided to one of many positions and then activated to create such lesions. Such catheter systems, however, are highly problematic requiring a stable platform from which the ablating device can be accurately positioned at a desired location. Known systems require tremendous amounts of time to create desired lesion sets clue to positioning problems and the configuration of the ablating device itself one which is directed to the creation of point ablations rather than linear lesions. Some desired lesions may require a user to create numerous such point ablations.
What is needed is a delivery system which can quickly and easily deploy an ablation device, as well as other functional devices, to create a desired lesion pattern through the accurate positioning and ablation of various target tissue sites, the ablations which together form the desired lesion pattern.